The inventor has proposed an improved bed apparatus in U.S. patent application No. 755,448, filed Sept. 5, 1991 (Kassai). In consideration of housing circumstances in Japan, this bed apparatus can be used in a 6-mat room of about 270 cm by 360 cm or a 4.5-mat room of about 270 cm by 270 cm, for example. The bed in the copending application is provided with a lifting mechanism which can simply raise up or lay down a sick person or the like from or on the bed body and move the person onto a side portion of the bed body.
A bed-ridden state is rather unpreferable for a sick person or the like to recover from illness or disorder. In recent years, the importance of rehabilitation has been recognized in particular, and many reports have been written on the fact that it is rather advisable for a sick person or the like to exercise however lightly, in order to recover sooner.